20 killed in DRC train crash
2007-02-14 13:20
Kinshasa - Twenty people are now known to have been killed when a freight train derailed in south-east Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congolese Red Cross said on Wednesday.
An earlier toll given by rail authorities late on Tuesday after the accident occurred had put the number of dead at 10, with 11 injured.
The victims were described as stowaways but it was not clear if they were fare-dodgers or included people who had illegally entered the DRC from neighbouring Zambia.
The train which was transporting mostly food supplies derailed at Katanga, about 75km from the Zambian border while it was travelling between Sakania and Lubumbashi.
About 15 people were injured, a Red Cross official said.
Accidents occur quite frequently on this part of railroad which is the country's oldest and has undergone little maintenance since the 1960s.